


Shrike Love

by Reagananimeclub



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Renaissance, Arranged Marriage, Assassins & Hitmen, Butlers, Con Artists, Elves, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Hate to Love, Magical Realism, Maids, Psychic Abilities, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Tricksters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:01:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23663539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reagananimeclub/pseuds/Reagananimeclub
Summary: When the aura reader bodyguard of the king Rainer, gets black mailed, the assassin family demands an arranged marriage of their young aura reader, to one of the son's of the most powerful assassin family in all the land. Years later the girl in question after many failed escape attempts from the isolated mansion, Geraldine has to go to the family home of the most wicked nest of assassin's there ever was. It's sink or swim.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been reading a lot of manwha and watching a lot of hunter x hunter so you pretty much know where this is going. Murder and pretty dresses baaaaby.

_ “My dear Geraldine,  _

_ Happy early birthday Gerry! I am happy to tell you that this year I’m coming to your birthday earlier than usual. By the time this letter has reached you I should be arriving in two days. I think it’s time in our relationship that we should spend more time together as I am adamant about pushing the date to our wedding sooner. Arrangements have been made to move you into the family home soon and we will talk a lot on this matter when I arrive. I’ve heard your lessons have been going well. I’m sure Mr. Newmore hasn’t been too strict with you. I am very excited to see you soon. Sending you all the luck and love I can your way I hope to see you soon.  _

_ Yours truly, _

_ Randall Seras _

Her hands quivered while holding the paper as she ripped it in half. “He’s decided to come early this year.” The girl the size of a shoe sitting on the desk full of books looked at the girl who ripped the letter carefully. 

“Well that’s not too bad. He’ll leave eventually right Gerry?” 

“No not this time this time he says he’s moving me into the family home. This is the first time he’s ever mentioned that.” The young girl shuddered.

“God I cannot get married to him I will die.”

The girl stood there with a dumbfounded expression while she said those words. Her face was pale, her body was stiff. She rose from the desk chair to start pacing around the room with her long blonde hair trailing down to her waist following her. Her nightgown was pink and flowy looking elegant despite the nervous pace of the young woman wearing the clothes. The room she was pacing in was spacious with bookshelves full of books and shelves containing beautiful toys, stuffed animals and ornate jewelry boxes. A room that seemed like it was housing someone much younger than the teenage girl angrily pacing in it.

“Calm down Gerry…” The small girl said. The girl sitting on the desk was small but not in the sense of a child but in the sense of a perfectly proportioned adult except the size of a girl’s doll. Her clothes were also that of a doll’s. Beautiful green silk cloth with perfect satin doll shoes and light pale greenish skin, short white hair. The small girl was the perfect example of a forest elf. Her big green eyes followed Geraldine pacing. 

“Calm down? I don’t need to calm down, I need to figure out how to escape. I’ve been unsuccessful for so long. The maids who I tried to get to smuggle me out were all caught. My plan of trying to get me to cancel the engagement has obviously failed. All these years I’ve wasted. My only true ally in this entire household is you Shay. And I don’t think you can help me get out of this marriage right now.”

The small girl looked at her own small feet. 

“Well it’s not like he’s going to kill you, your skills are too valuable.”

“You don’t know that. I’m pretty sure all I have to do is not be all that useful and that’s enough of a reason for them to get rid of me. And even if they don’t kill me I’m going to be a wife to an assassin, in a family of assassins. The most powerful family of assassins, who I will never be able to escape. Until I die I guess?” Geraldine turned to face Shay with a more serious expression. 

“You don’t know what they’re really like, you don’t know what their aura’s look like.” Geraldine made a face like she was about to puke. 

“It’s so horrifying. It’s like being covered in poisonous spiders while staring at a hungry tiger who’s separated from you by just a curtain. It’s like looking at concentrated fear itself. He’s dangerous. Much more than you could tell. And the one time his brother was here it was the same type of aura. If you saw it. You’d be afraid too.”

“Is that why Miss Geraldine hid under the bed whenever her fiance arrived until age 15?” Shay casually said looking unimpressed. 

“Honestly I probably would have tried to hide then too if it wasn’t for the fact I had to beg him to postpone the wedding.”

“There was that time you hid under the curtains when he came to visit last Yule.”

“Oh I remember, I nearly fainted when he pulled the curtain suddenly away.”

Shay sighed.

“He’s an assassin Gerry. I don’t know why you didn’t think he wouldn’t find you.”

Gerry looked away shyly. “I knew he’d find me. I was just hoping I could get a little time away from him.”

Gerry stopped pacing and let herself relax a bit. Turning to fall into her much too big bed full of fluffy blankets and soft plushies. “Shay. You’re all I’ve got.” She said muffling her words through the sheets of fabric on the bed.

Shay crawled down a ladder connecting the desk to the ground and walked over to the ladder that allowed her onto Geraldine’s bed. Shay positioned herself in a seated position near Geraldine’s head and stroked her forehead affectionately.

Gerry smiled briefly. She had always found it weird that Shay would often try to pet her head whenever given the chance. Gerry wasn’t sure if she was in the same position of being so small that she would go out of her way to touch the hair of giants. 

“Gerry. The only reason why I’m here is because I was bought and given to you as a gift by Randall Seras. Look at your room and your life. Maybe you’re out of options but that might not be so bad. Randall Seras has taken good care of you. You're educated, well fed and you get everything you’ve ever asked for.”

Gerry turned up her face to Shay 

“Yeah Shay I sure am a well fed pig aren't I. They do things for me so in the future I'll do things for them. Namely assist them in murdering people. I’ve been given everything I ever thought, of as a means to get me to want to stay with them. But that's a real shame, because I don’t want to stay with them. If my father never got blackmailed into selling me to them, I would never be here. I'd be with my family. When I was 7 I had a mother, a sister, a brother and a father. All whom I haven't seen in ten years. And add that to the fact I’m destined to marry some monster.” Gerry ran her fingers across her nightgown to feel it. The fabric was impossibly soft. So soft she couldn’t quite tell what the material was. She gazed around her room filled with bookshelves and shelves of toys, stuffed animals, and boxes of jewelry all neatly placed like a shrine before her. In the closet were many dresses waiting to be worn. “I am a princess.” She thought to herself. “And like a fairy tale princess I’m surrounded by great danger.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Gerry, gerry, gerry~” The young man spoke in a sing-song voice, holding tightly a stuffed animal. In the carriage surrounding him were dresses of all shapes and kinds silky, fluffy ornate and simple in bright vibrant colors and pastels all squished together. The man these fabrics were covering was a peculiar looking individual. His hair was bright red, an almost crimson color. And his eyes were an equally bright yellow. “Do you think she’ll like all the birthday gifts? I’m especially excited of what she’ll think of this stuffed animal I got her. I specifically picked it out myself. It’s a stuffed alpaca. I’ve heard they’ve become quite popular.”

The young long haired butler haired person in a butler’s uniform sitting across from him stared out at the window nonchalantly but the twitch of his reddish purple eyebrows gave off a small hint of annoyance.

“She’s too old for all these gifts you give her. You’ve given her the exact same types of gifts for 7 years. Either way I don’t personally think she’ll care what type of stuffed toy you get her. Considering she’s always run away from you and cried since the moment she's laid eyes on you.”

The red haired man looked annoyed. “Well she hasn’t updated the list on the things she wants since age 10 and I don’t want to get her anything she doesn’t want. Also I have a feeling things will go quite differently from before. Gerry has matured a lot and I’ve worked on being less intimidating. Though I do wish you’d let me wear that clown costume.”

“I believe she’s not over the last time you wear a clown costume. We’ve avoided clown dolls ever since, don’t you remember.”

“Yellow is a bad color on me. Of course she was afraid. This time I was going to go for a lighter look.” 

The young butler looked promptly annoyed.

“I just don’t understand why you don’t use the seduction tactics you’ve been taught with her. Why didn’t you just lock her in a room for a couple months and seduce her. ”

The red haired man looked distressed. “You’re an absolutely terrible person, you know that? Gerry is too young for that. Those tricks are all cheap and not likely to last. Besides it’s important to be authentic and I make sure to be myself with her.

“What exactly are you going to do when she tries to postpone the engagement this year. And when she refuses to come with.”

The man’s face changed into a hesitant expression. “We will change to plan B.”

“You’ve spent way too much money with that girl. I don’t understand why you and the head of the family didn’t just sell her back to her parents. They offered a lot of money to get her back. Ten times worth of what we’ve spent on her. And probably thrice her actual value.” 

The red haired man smiled bitterly. “After all the work we put in to set her dad up to blackmail him in the first place. Thrice her actual value you say? I’ve never seen an aura reader baby on the black market. She’s an invaluable purchase.”

“You can’t find aura reader babies. but you can easily find and pay aura readers from guilds to do work.”

“Mr. Newport, our trusted and only aura reader we’ve hired, isn't exactly getting any younger. How old is he getting? I’d say his 65 birthday was just last month. And as for these aura readers for hire. They won’t exactly be loyal to this family. Mr.Newport didn’t spawn out of thin air. And our line of work isn’t all that respected among respectable guilds, so that also adds a bonus difficulty in hiring aura readers. The only reason her father let us have her is he was confident he could buy her back. Those who sell their children in the first place should never be so confident.”

“It’s not like he could have refused, we would have just killed him.”

The red head made a worn out face. “We can’t just kill Mr. Cion. If he disagreed we’d just kidnap her anyway to have extra collateral. Killing him and taking the girl would have made our enemies hate us a lot more than just making him sell her.”

The butler sighed. “Whatever, you have no excuse for the amount of money you’ve spent on her.”

The red head grinned. “I want you to know that I don’t regret spoiling her. Mr. Newport is her teacher and always reports that she does excellently. He even added that she’s getting close to his skill level and she’s only 17. Can you imagine? A 17 year old approaching the skill of a lifelong expert. Not to mention she’s read the first set of the assassin code books and has moved on to finishing most of the 2nd and some books in the third set. She’s turned out quite perfect.”

“Mr.Newport said she has difficulty in one area I thought.” 

The red head’s smile faded slightly. “Yes apparently she struggles with strong auras. From what I’ve heard the more dangerous a person is, the more powerful the aura. He’s described it like being in the present of a poignant smell or a bright light. It seems to overpower her. We were going to give her more training to help with her difficulty. But it seems our more dangerous animals are being put in use right now. But he says she’ll adjust quickly when placed into the manor.”

The butler frowned. “I certainly hope so. There are enough screaming people in that house to add another one.”

The red head scowled. “Don’t say that Clem!”

The butler huffed. “ _ Sorry _ Master Randall.”


	3. Chapter 3

The maids dressed Geraldine carefully in a fancy but cute dress. Geraldine could dress herself but liked being dressed by the maids because it was an opportunity to talk to other people. The outfit she was being dressed in was a brown dress with tannish white sleeves and brown ruffles at the end of the dress. There was a brown ribbon at the collar giving the dress a slight childish look. She looked at herself in the mirror. “Why do you think I keep on getting childish dresses? Wouldn’t you think an assassin would want someone to be dressed a bit more… sexy? Or maybe that’s a stereotype?” 

The short haired maid laughed. “You know some men like the young innocent look. Maybe Master Randall is into that. Then again even if you were to dress sexy.” The maid’s eyes trailed Geraldine’s figure. “There wouldn’t be much to work with.”

“Agh. Miriam shut up.” Geraldine looked slightly ticked off yet her voice sounded somewhat defeated. Geraldine had long accepted what her figure was. She was going to be short with a stick like figure for the rest of her life. 

The other maid chimed in. “Why do you want a more sexy style? Is it because you’ve finally decided to Master Randall as your fiance and now you're attempting to seduce him.”

“Sara don’t even joke about that, you’re not the one getting married to an assassin.”

Sara the other maid smirked. “Nope I’m just getting paid by one.”

The door opened suddenly and a stern looking woman appeared in the door. 

“You girls talk too much no wonder you’re always late. Geraldine it’s time for your lesson.”

“Yes Ms.Clough” The maids chirped at the same time quickly scurrying out of the room.

“Come along now Geraldine.” Ms.Clough’s eyes swept up and down at Geraldine in an instant before departing out the door. 

Geraldine hurried out of her room to catch up with Ms.Clough. Ms.Clough was someone who did things incredibly quickly. Geraldine had heard rumors from other maids that Ms.Clough in her prime had actually been a skilled assassin before retiring to work for the Seras family as a maid. Despite these rumors Geraldine had to wonder if they were exactly true. Ms.Cloud’s aura was murky and dead but not the terror inspiring auras that followed the assassins she had seen. She gave off a dangerous aura but not too dangerous. Geraldine suspected Ms.Clough could be overpowered if a situation got bad enough. Ms.Clough had been sent to live in the secluded mansion with Geraldine when Geraldine had first been brought there at age 7. Geraldine supposed Ms.Clough was supposed to serve as a mother figure to her but Geraldine could hardly see Ms.Clough as a mother. She could perhaps see Ms.Clough as a teacher or a nagging aunt but there was no maternal energy in that brisk woman.

“You’ve read the letter, correct? There’s no worming out of this one. You are going to be marrying Master Randall very soon. No tricks.”

Geraldine sighed. Ms.Clough was very pushy about trying to marry as quickly as possible which was the sharp opposite of Geraldine. They had been in a push and pull relationship with this since Geraldine had first arrived.

“Yes Ms.Clough I read the letter yesterday. There will be no tricks.” Geraldine responded vaguely annoyed. Ms.Clough’s appearance brightened slightly as if she took great comfort in Geraldine’s unhappy state. Wasting no time Ms.Clough went to touch on another controversial topic.

“Where is the elf?”

“You mean Shay? Shay is reading a book in the closet in my room.”

“You’re going to be moving to the Seras manor soon. You can leave that thing behind.”

“You mean my precious gift bestowed to me by my most honored fiance.”

“Please children tire of toys all the time. And you’re becoming an adult young miss.”

Ms.Clough walked as fast as many people ran and after years Geraldine could finally keep up with her. They were at the end of the hallway now and Ms.Clough had a smile on her face. A rare sight to witness as the woman had a habit of harsh frowns. “After 10 years it seems like I’ll finally be returning to the Seras estate. You are going to have to look very lively for when Master Randall comes tomorrow.” 

Geraldine shuddered to see the happy expression on Ms.Clough’s face. And opened the door to see her teacher, Mr.Newmore. 

Mr.Newmore taught in the parlor of the manor which was lighted by wide windows. “Good morning Geraldine.”

“Good morning Mr.Newport.” Geraldine curtsied before taking her seat. A ritual she had perfected and done everyday for years. On the table today there was a box. And she knew this was no ordinary box. There was an aura coming from the box. And this particular aura was dangerous.

“Today’s training will help you for your move into Seras manor.” 

She gritted her teeth. There was no doubt about it. She wouldn’t be able to escape moving to the Seras manor. Everyone was already acting like it was a done deal. She wondered how her fiance would react when she asked if she could postpone moving in. Every request she had asked of him was granted. Except for of course her request to cancel her engagement. And her request to be returned to her father, which was always answered simply by, “Your father was the one that sent you here.”. 

Which was half right. After all he had agreed to trade her to keep the Seras assassin family silent about him taking funds out of the royal treasury as well as selling certain items of the king to wealthy foreign buyers. It was embarrassing to think about but. Geraldine could no longer remember her father’s face. In fact when the thought of her father came along she always thought of Mr.Newport. Perhaps because he was the only adult aura reader she knew of? Geraldine shook off those thoughts and paid more attention to the aura in the box. 

The old man stared her down. “Can you tell me what’s in the box, Geraldine?”

“Something dangerous” Geraldine replied. It was a safe answer. She didn’t say anything incorrect. As a child if she guessed something wrong she would be punished no matter how close she was. It was always better to be accurate than detailed. She found out that saying something true but vague was always better than saying something not quite right but clear. 

The old man chuckled finding her vague answer amusing. “That is right but not very telling. Tell me more about what’s in the box.”

Geraldine looked closer at the aura. The aura didn’t move like something that was exactly intelligent. It wasn’t a mammal. Mammal’s were easier to read and once you moved on from that it got harder. The aura waves were moving shakily. Was it stress or is it just hungry? Why would something that small be that dangerous. The aura was so basic too. 

“It’s an insect. A dangerous insect.” Geraldine stated looking back at Mr.Newport. It had been a long time since she had been wrong at this type of game.

“That’s a good answer.” Mr.Newport smiled. “That was the answer I was looking for. Can you guess, what type of insect? You won’t get counted wrong if you get this answer incorrect.”

“A tarantula?” Geraldine had no clue what was in the box but the box was big for an insect so it would have to be a big bug. 

“You’re very close actually. In this box there is not an insect but rather a close relative of insects. There is an arachnid. The type of arachnid is a scorpion. I didn’t count you wrong because most people don’t know the difference. And if you had told someone to remove that bug they would think you knew exactly what you were talking about. You could have fooled someone that you knew exactly what was in that box.” 

Geraldine nodded. “I see. What else will we be doing today?”

“Eager I see aren’t we Gerry. You’re going to hold this box for the rest of the day and you’re going to get used to being around dangerous auras.”

“That’s weird. I’m used to being around your aura, right?” Geraldine looked at his aura carefully. As a child his aura used to scare her. It was dark and murky. Like danger was always lurking. Unlike her head maid Ms.Clough she was quite certain that Mr.Newport had definitely killed people. How many she wasn’t sure. But it had to be more than one. She had grown adjusted to his aura over time and now it just brought up feelings of familiarity.

“You know my aura is very different from the young master’s aura. You probably don’t feel too threatened by my aura anymore. And that’s fine. If I was trying to kill you or injure you my aura would appear a lot more threatening. My aura is in a resting position but still appears as a dangerous aura, which means you know I’m a dangerous person but I’m not a dangerous person trying to hurt you. Believe it or not. Young master Randall’s aura is always in a resting position. If you ever saw it not in a resting position. It would be fair to say you’d no longer be alive. But he just so happens to be a person who’s much more dangerous than me. So even in resting position his aura appears so dangerous you feel as though your life is on the line. Be that as it may it’s time you get comfortable around dangerous auras. The people in the manor you are going to are going to house auras on the same level as master Randall and higher. Remember master randall has six siblings, three cousins, as well as the lady of the house, the head of the house, and the matriarch. Not to mention each servant is particularly dangerous some well over my level.”

Geraldine grimaced. “So a house full of monsters where I feel like I’m constantly going to be killed every second. Say Mr.Newport what are the chances one of them kills me.” 

“The chances of you dying in that house are very low. You are going to become one of that family and your ability is so rare they’ll want to keep you. As for you feeling like you’re going to be killed we need to work on that or else you won’t fair very well. After all you’re Master Randall’s fiance.” Mr.Newport said frankly. 

Geraldine’s expression turned sad. It always hurt Geraldine a little when Mr.Newport reminded her of her fate. It didn’t really matter to him what kind of monster she ended up with. She always secretly wished that one day he’d stick up for her and help her escape this awful house to return back to her family. Or maybe she could just live with him in some remote village far away. Well enough of fantasies. She picked up the box and held it close. The aura coming in contact with hers, making her body break out in a sweat. 

“You’re trying to force me to go against basic instinct.”

“You’re not in any real danger. That scorpion is safe inside that box. This is about training your resistance. Become comfortable with this aura.”

“You know keeping a scorpion in a box seems a little inhumane. Just like forcing an unwilling participant into an arranged marriage.” Geraldine mentioned casually. She was comfortable voicing her discontent with Mr.Newport due to how much she spent with him.

“Well we would have just used poison but Aura readers can only sense the aura of a living thing unfortunately. You can’t tell how dangerous a weapon or liquid is by looking at it’s aura as non-living things have no aura. And as for the scorpion he’ll be fine. The box has holes so he can breathe and we’ll return him when you go to sleep.” 

Geraldine shook her head. “Fine. I’ll see you later. You won’t leave me all alone in that manor with Ms.Clough right?” She turned to Mr.Newport making an exaggerated sad face. 

“Of course not princess.” Mr.Newport called her that nickname whenever she faked being over the top. 

Geraldine smiled slightly as she walked out the door clutching the box. She walked down the hall back to her room at a casual pace. Unlike Ms.Clough Geraldine didn’t see the need in rushing. Pressing the box close to her stomach. The aura from the box filled her with dread, it was the aura of a stressed bug with a dangerous ability. But still it was nothing like the aura that came from Randall Seras. She walked into her room to see Shay standing near the door waiting for her. “What’s in the box?”

“Shay you sound just like teacher Newport.”

“Ohhh was that today’s lesson?”

“Yes and inside this box is a deadly scorpion I have to carry around me to prepare myself to live with Randall Seras. As if this bug and that murderer compare.”

Shay looked perplexed. “What if it gets out and stings you.”

“I don’t think it can get out of this box” 

“I see. What are you going to do now with your last day apart from Randall Seras?”

“Shay do me a favor and please don’t ever say that again.” Geraldine put the box containing the scorpion on the desk. “I guess write in my journal my last words and find some place to hide for tomorrow. I guess I’ll wear whatever I want too. So I’ll definitely put on some pjs.” 

Shay smiled “Don’t be such a downer Gerry. I’ll definitely won’t let you die.”

Geradine smiled back at the elf. “I appreciate that.”

Geraldine stared at the wall above her bed. 

“What are you thinking about?” Shay asked.

“I’ll be turning 17 in about 2 days.I had my first conversation with Randall 2 years ago. When I was 15. I remember it pretty well. It’s strange. The Seras family ability...”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a flashback chapter if it's not clear.

Gerry was 15 when she saw the aura in the doorway. The most alarming part was that she couldn’t see anything else. Or hear anything else. It was like he was invisible to the rest of the outside world. This was the technique that made the Seras assassins the most dangerous in the world. She squinted hard at the figure. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t there though. It was more like her vision to where he was, was suddenly worse. “What are you doing” She whispered. 

He suddenly became visible. His bright smile was present. The maids discussed how his bright smile was quite charming but to her his smile only made his appearance more monstrous. 

“Ah Gerry~ I knew you’d see me. You know something strange? I’m so used to no one noticing me, that when someone actually does it’s a bit surprising. No one else in the world can do that besides you and a handful of others.” Randall talked casually but changed the tone of his voice to being cautious at the end. Geraldine was holding a conversation with him but looked like she was about to flee any second. 

“Why were you waiting in the doorway.” Geraldine said coldly. 

“I knew you were here so I decided I’d wait and see what you would do. I heard you wanted to talk to me?”

“You waited invisible like a spy.”

“Force of habit. I didn’t want to bother you.” Randall looked embarrassed. 

“About what I want to talk about. I want to ask you to annul our engagement.”

“Why exactly?”

Geraldine froze. A million responses came into her mind. Which one would convince him to annul the engagement though.

“I don’t want to marry a murderer and you kill people.” 

“I don’t see that exactly as a problem. Let’s not be hasty.”

Geraldine’s mind went nuts with rage for a solid 2 seconds. What on earth did he mean he couldn’t see it as a problem, why did this idiot think she would bring it up if it wasn’t a problem. 

“I don’t want to marry you. I’ll never want to marry you. Please leave me alone.”

“Hmm… There was a deal made for you to do this. So you don’t really have a choice. But that’s not fair at all. Anyway I don’t think it really matters, since I have this feeling that you’ll say yes in the end regardless.”

“I have a feeling I will never say yes to this.” Geraldine responded bitterly.

“Let me change your mind then.” Randall smiled gently. 

Geraldine felt drained mentally. Talking to this guy made her feel like she was on the brink of death. Being tough with him was insanely difficult. Like standing up to a nightmare. She couldn’t be tough with him anymore. So she had only one other option to play. 

“If we cannot annul this engagement. Please, please… postpone the marriage for another year.”

Randall smiled gently again. “Of course. I can do that.”

“Thank you. Now please leave me alone. Your aura… It’s too much for me.”

“That’s fine.” Randall took a long hard look at her. “But now that you’ve talked to me Gerry. I’m not going to stop trying to talk to you. And even though I’m letting you off the hook. I’m going to come get you.”

Geraldine stared blankly at Randall in fear as Randall walked out of the room. 

Geraldine fell to the floor. She would have to beg for him to postpone the marriage again the next year. And the year after that, she would receive a letter...

  
  
  
  



End file.
